Returning Echoes
by I.Hope.You.Dance.7
Summary: After Rio gets married, the town is all quiet and filled wth lonely singles- right? Of course not! After the marriage of the heroine, the other characters take their happiness apon themselves- this is what the rival couples of A New Beginning would be, if there were any. Pairings: FelicityXSanjay, MichelleXAllen, RodXTina
1. Of foreigners and the girl next door

**New project. **** What the rival couples would be in a New Beginning if there were any, in my opinion. Split fairly obviously into two rival events. Read and Review!**

**FelicityXSanjay**

**[The most perfect things come in the oddest forms.]**

He is selfless, and she wishes to be so.

She gives her all until nothing is left; doing what she loves until she wonders how much longer she can break herself by loving it. He has been giving his all to a man who saved him, who appreciates him _almost _to the lengths he's worked so hard to solidify.

The people who see them holding hands, conversing brightly with love-struck faces pass them off as an odd-couple- two people who met in a restaurant and found some sort of understanding in each other's arms. The people who look know better, know that perfection comes in the oddest forms, in him teaching her about his cultural food, and her teaching him how braid a fishtail.

Yes, they are ease; frictionless to the point of a slippery slope. Somehow, they always slide into each other's arms. They are happiness, complete; but first, they have to get there.

He pretends not to notice her, even though he knows her. He catches her name on the rift of noise, through the words bustling their way to his ears- _Felicity. _He thinks it fits her- a bright, cheery name for a girl with bouncing blonde curls. He doesn't speak to her, besides to tell her what he and Amir would like that particular day, although she clearly is beginning to catch on- foods from the Homeland from which they both came. She is kind, brisk, and courteous, and he would wish nothing more than to sit down and have a civilized conversation with her; but she was not his first responsibility. Amir was, until… he wasn't anymore.

She sees him, but she doesn't look. He is to confusing, to much a puzzle for her to spend time working out the pieces. She thinks there is no reason to, but she listens and grabs pieces when she can. It takes a season to hear his name- _Sanjay- _and she like how it sounds coming off her tongue. She is hungry for more, but she wonders how long she can keep up this longing- before it runs out, or how hungry it will get?

It is winter when she first looks at him for who he is. She knows his name, as he's been around a few times, but she's never really spoken to him- he is odd, and she's not sure she completely understands him. He walks in through the door of the restaurant, snow barely visible on his white locks.

"May I have a Tom Yum Goong, please?" He asks her.

She smiles. Tom Yum Goong is one of her favorites, and she loves having Clement make it for others, if only so she can smell the aroma. "Of course. It'll be up soon."

"Thank you." He bows to her, making her blush- _but why? _The restaurant is empty, and he goes to take a seat and one of the freshly cleaned tables, a fruit of her laborious work.

She tells Clement about the order, and the chef goes to making it. Felicity stands by the counter, pretending to bury her nose in the newest newspaper, watching Sanjay. _He must be so lonely, _she thinks, sympathetic- she has friends and family back home, and a warm hearth here. Sanjay has just lost his best- his _only- _friend to marriage with that farmer girl, Rio. She can only image how cold that large mansion must feel when there is nobody to share it with.

"Felicity, my girl!" Clement, who she likes to think of as her father away from her father, is shaking her shoulders, jostling her out of a daze. "You make me think you need more time off! Deliver this to the costumer, won't you? Then maybe you should take a break and chat for a while."

She wants to protest that she doesn't need a break, but she catches the sparkle in Clement's good-natured eyes. _Did he catch me staring? Is he taking it as…something?_ "I…"

He hands her the Tom Yum Goong with a smile that tells her to relax, not to protest, and turns away. Felicity, taking a deep breath, artfully places the dish in one hand and walks over to the table. Sanjay looks up at her, offering a smile. She sets down the dish, careful not to spill a drop of the delicious soup, and- all in one artful swirl- pulls out a chair and falls right into it.

"I'm Felicity," She says, placing her forearms so the lay across the table, careful not to touch her elbows to the table.

He looks amused and surprised, and she thinks she sees a look of relief in the dark depths. "I know. I'm Sanjay."

He has a nice voice, she thinks, deep and rumbly and beautiful, like fried rice- but less crisp, and more flavored; so flavored rice, perhaps, the kind with spices? She's proud when she replies, "Yeah, I know. I've seen you around before. We've never talked, and the place is empty right now, so…"

"Should I leave?" His furrowed brows confuse her, drawing themselves into a line as white as the snow banks.

Understanding piles itself on top of her after a quick moment of pondering. "Oh, no! We're open, but people usually don't come in this late, that's all."

"Oh, well, I seek your forgiveness."

No, she did not understand this young man at all. The people in this town were kind, but it was a rare treat to be implored for forgiveness so much. "No, no! I think Clement likes to have customers this late. He gets bored at this time of night. "

"Oh." He smiles, but even Felicity can tell that it is half-hearted, forced- a Neil smile. He takes a sip of his soup, almost delicately, as she studies him. He has a handsome, very particular face; high cheek bones appear under dark skin, white hair contrasts with dark eyes. His lithe frame- she can barely tell it is lithe under all the billowy clothes- speak not of hardships, but of work. _Fried brown rice. A little undercooked, with somebody's special ingredient. _

"You aren't very good at this, are you?"

"Good at what?" He is confused, and she's almost ashamed of herself for making him feel that way; rather, that was a thing for Michelle or Tina, but she finds that she cannot stop.

"Being you by yourself, of course!" This causes him to raise an eyebrow, but Felicity is lit up on thought and inspiration- she is lit now it the fire that lurks, just barley under her layer of skin. "I have this awesome book about it, but… it's in my room at the Inn." She sighs, _so much for that one._

Sanjay lifts another spoonful of soup to his face, thoughtfully. He opens his mouth to say something at the same time Felicity does, but the girl has sense enough to clamp down her jaws and let him speak. "I'd be willing to go get it from there, if you'd like."

"Really? That would be very kind of you, but you don't have to."

He takes another quick taste of soup before taking his hand and putting it over hers. "I want to."

She finds herself blushing, no matter how chaste the contact was. Felicity thinks, perhaps, there is red under Sanjay's dark skin, a blossoming spaghetti sauce the same flavor as hers. If she looks hard enough, she there might be. You never really know, after all. She wants to study their hands, the brown interchanged with the white- if not to relate it with rice, but to see if they would fit- but he removes his hand.

She smiles, flashing white teeth as a girl who totally hadn't been thinking the thoughts she had been. "You're gentlemen. We'll go whenever you're done."

"I'm not hungry anymore," he says, pushing away the soup. "Let's go now."

Part of Felicity was sad to see it go- her favorite soup, just pushed aside for a girl-, but the other part had never been happier.

He leads her through the path that Tina had spent all day clearing- the hyper brunette could not stand to make her routes through the snow- as snowflakes spin around them, illuminated by a half-moon in the sky above. She finds herself having an ache to twirl around and to shiver constantly at the same time.

"Are you cold?" He is apologetic; and she wonders if you could be so much a gentlemen to the point of flaw.

"I… I'll be okay."

He looks as though he doesn't believe her- even though there wasn't really all that much to believe- and shrugs off his long vest and hands it to her.

He says, "Take it," with such a gentle command, she finds her hand reaching out to gather the fabric around her. It smells like spices; the gentle, nose-prickling kind.

"Thank you." She says, as if she's never been surer of something in her life.

There's silence in the air, and it is not something Felicity is used to; another thing she isn't sure she likes, but she wishes to. The young woman- perhaps she isn't a girl, anymore, with a career and curves- looks up to the sky like a child, a snowflake landing on her nose, and another in the locks of her hair, and another across Sanjay's vest. She is aware of every muscle in his body, ever move he makes, from the corner of her heart; but she laughs anyway.

"It's so beautiful out here. It makes me want to spin around, dance like a kid again."

He studies her, taking his rough hand and placing it into her porcelain one. She looks over at him, and she can see his smile illuminated by the moonlight. Her heart feels like it is about to erupt, beating far out of her chest- she's surprised he can't see it. His moves lack sense; but she's already decided they don't need any. "What's stopping you?"

With those words, anything she was worried about- being seen, being laughed at- feels like over-cooked food, something just to throw away as soon as you have it. She doesn't know, anymore. So she takes his other hand. "Nothing, not anymore."

She takes his other hand, and she finds that they are spinning; not dancing romantically across the snow banks, but spinning and frolicking like a child on the first snow of the year. She forgets about the book; and he, the world. For a precious few hours, the world is theirs; a world that does not need business or words or even music- a world of snow and two different people, and that is all.

They said they weren't dating, but no one in the town is that dumb. Felicity claimed she was too busy for a relationship; and Sanjay never came here for love, anyway. Those claims lasted for a few weeks, until Tina claimed she saw them down by the river holding hands, and that was the end of that. The town was fascinated by them; it had been two seasons since Amir and Rio had wed, and Hanna and Emma needed someone else to 'Aw' over. After a Season, they made it official. They were sparsely seen together- relationships don't change busybodies-, but if you were really interested, you could ease Tina into giving out some information without much trouble. Sanjay didn't mind the friendly gossip, as long as Felicity was okay with it- and Felicity didn't mind, as long as Sanjay was okay with it. Allen related them to a broken clock, "They are consistent in their inconsistency, and you can always expect a surprise- I think how they function like that is the real surprise of the relationship. Now, you came here for a haircut, didn't you?"

"Your fried brown rice." Felicity handed her boyfriend a plate, settling on the doorstep beside him, right in front of the Exotic Manor.

He laughs- it is a reward to her ears, a deep sounds, better than even his smile. It is a bit of a joke of theirs- she has long sense told him of her analogy, and he has long sense appreciated it. He sticks his fork into it, taking a bite. After he has swallowed, he pursues honesty, "You are getting better."

She beams even with the knowledge that she was rather terrible to begin with. "Thank you."

It is fall now, and the leaves twirl around them like colorful snowflakes, caught in the gentle wind. There is a chill in the air, carrying the promise of winter to their frigid, intertwined hands. They don't say anything, and no longer does Felicity feel the need to; Sanjay has taught her the art of silence, and the art of listening. Rather, it is he who breaks the silence.

"What would you say if I asked you to marry me?"

She figures it is just another hypothetical question- the ones Sanjay liked to ask, trying to get to know her, a sort of game with function and intelligence- but she blushes anyway. "I love you; the answer would be yes."

He looks at her, his dark eyes taking in all the fairness about her, and she all the darkness of him; he said one day they looked like Yin and Yang, but she didn't agree- his hair was white, after all, and their personalities fit together like an easy puzzle. She wonders now if he was right, when he throws back his head and laughs. "It wasn't hypothetical." He pulls out a blue feather and turns to her, his knee falling to the ground and her hand to her mouth. "I am asking you to marry me, Felicity."

Her breath is stalled, but only for a moment, a moment of shock; the answer, like their love, comes easy after a while. "The answer is still yes."

He scoops her into her arms like she isn't the same size as him, and she buries her head into his neck, smelling like spices that are his scent.

He says, "I love you," like he's never meant anything, not even pledging his loyalty to Amir, more than that.

"I love you too," she says, meaning every word just as much as he does, just as much- no more!- than she loves food.

To them, love is taste and work and faith; it is a sweet priceless they've both worked for without knowing it- although, you could probably buy the Special Edition of it off Tina for 9 g's or so.


	2. Magic Touches

**I wrote this weeks ago, and did my research after the fact. It seems people do pair these two up, but don't think they could last or love much. I no longer know how I feel, but from a game company who brought us LukeXSelena and GillXLuna, this could only be the next step.**

**AllenXMichelle**

**[Two magic touches can do anything, after all]**

They have one, unspoken rule; he pretends he is not fascinated by her, and she pretends not to notice.

They are both liars- to themselves, to others- because they know that isn't true.

He was drawn by her hair, but he stays for the show. He tells himself he's trying to figure out how to cut hair like that- into pristine pink spirals, bouncy and buoyant- that would prove his skill and attract customers of all kinds. Yes, Allen tries to keep his eyes on the hair as the show goes on, but oh, how he fails. Her moves are rhythmic, like a dancer, but with more purpose- one move there, another here, swooping and surfing and riding. Allen reminds himself that he is not attracted to her; he would rather have a woman with curves than an flat-board with nice hair- but after a while, he decides she is petite; gently rounded where need be with a light, beautiful face and amber eyes. Some part of him deep, deep down wants to know her; but that is out of the question. Another part of him just wants to touch her; a little less out of the question, but not into consideration. Allen, after all, has a reputation to keep.

She wished he was just another faceless blob in the crowd, like everybody else in this town. Of course, that would be physically impossible for him- yes, he'd have to work to be invisible, strive for any imperfection to cross his perfect face, his flawless hair.

She's not sure if she hates him for that, or if she loves him.

If she was anybody else, she would wish for a simpler thing; wish for her heart to stop flustering when she saw him watching her, try not to notice how his eyes locked on her when she moved a certain way. If she were Iroha or Yuri, she wouldn't be able to stand the way she felt for a boy like him- a _man_ like him. Heck, she can hardly stand it being herself; she's not in the game for love, but in it for admiration, for material things like new toys and brief fame.

Still, she thinks; What's fun without a little risk?

He wishes she would get out of his head.

Allen thinks it's one of her magic tricks, and a damn good one. The only thing that used to occupy his head was himself; be that a good thing or an egotistical one, it didn't really matter- now the only thing in his head was her.

He tries very, very hard not to look when she walks into his Salon. She bounces with every step, from her dress to her hair to her ego. He's seen that walk, after all, when he's watching his own two feet. She's just kind enough- or weak enough, perhaps- not to let the whole world know that it's there. He pretends he hasn't been watching her the entire time when he asks;

"How may I help you?"

Her face, when she looks up at him, his covered with tears and runny stage make-up. Allen hadn't noticed when she walked in, but her hair- the fascinating pink curls that had first made him think; _this girl might_ _be worth my time_- were stringy and static, not looking at all in the perfect formation the world would be used to.

"I'd like my hair cut."

"Of course," he says breezily, not letting on that she had been doing magic tricks in his head for hours, "Pick your chair."

Michelle does so, and he brandishes his scissors and hopes she won't have him cut off too much. As it would be a shame to lose this beautiful art of hair, he reminds himself. "What would you like?"

She says the words he was dreading to hear, "Cut it all off."

He watches her watch herself in the mirror. She's a mess, barely the romantic figure she presents herself to be up on stage. Somehow, this makes him like her better- flaws, after all, make character. "I don't recommend it."

She looks up at him, surprise dotting her face like stage make-up. "Do you think you can cut this hair? No, and I've decided it's too much. I'd like a pixie cut."

Michelle has insulted his ego, and has no faith in him- she has challenged him to a battle of the wits without knowing it. He is only too happy to indulge his own will; and she just has to deal with it. He plays with the ends of her hair, and she just continues to look in the mirror. "I am known around the area for my skills- where are you known in, my dear?"

She is no longer dead; she is lively, erupt, springing from misery to meet a new challenge. "More than around the area- as far as Castanet, at least! I paid a good amount of money this cut- not just anyone can do it."

"Castanet has a dancer who is much more attractive than you- I don't think so, Princess. "He's being mean now, but he doesn't really mind- if she doesn't like it, she should get out of his head. "I have many skills- I can maintain the cut you are known for without problem. For much cheaper, as well."

Michelle's back in the mirror, but the tears are drying from her face. She smiles a bit- a smile of knowing, of figuring out. "You're trying to trick me, aren't you?"

He is embarrassed she has figured him out so quickly; perhaps she has been watching his like he was watching her. "I think you're pulling your ego, Princess. I just think it would be the best business decision to keep your hair; and yes, maybe I do like it. It's a piece of art really." She doesn't realize how much this means, this admittance of defeat after a win.

She wipes her face. "You're a strange man, but do your trick- I don't like pixie cuts much anyway."

He gets to working, lathering his hands with hair conditioner, saying; "Pixie cuts aren't for magicians anyway; I think newspaper girls prefer them."

She giggles, and it sounds like sparkles to his ears. _I'm really in over my head, aren't I?_

They do not make sense, but they do not try to. She keeps her hair; he keeps anything she throws out to the audience and props it up in his house. Rod makes fun of him for his obsession- morphing from fascination, a thing on the brink of love. Yuri is confused by her ranting; and tells the pink-haired magician that it is a crush- or perhaps more than that- may be love. She thinks she has fallen in love with a monster, a good-looking beast- but he doesn't exactly think of her as beauty.

They don't do love, but they try. They go out on Sundays, and Felicity grins, knowing what is going on, and serves them food that makes her think of Sanjay. The two of them- the Magician and the hair stylists- don't call what they have a relationship, rather two people of similar interests going out for a meal or two- because they are too stubborn, but anyone can see that they both care. He gives her gifts in kindness, and she doesn't have to ask- they put aside their egos for the sake of trying. They fight and they yell and they try to make it up for the sake of what they might have- but it is beautiful all the same.

He buys her a feather, and plays with it in his pocket before her show. Rod recommended that he just 'pull the trigger'- though the animal dealer hadn't yet himself-, but Allen doesn't understand why he did- yes, he's still in over his head. He's starting to think he prefers it this way.

With the swoop of someone who knows how clever he is, Allen places the blue feather in its new home, taking his seat in the front row. The lights dim, and Michelle frolics onto the stage- Allen had once made the mistake on commenting about that, learning that his female friend hadn't learned to appear yet- and sets out her materials.

"Welcome to today's show, ladies and gents!" Her voice is loud, confident- the voice he has heard in strength and rarely in weakness- the one he thinks he loves.

The usual crowd perked up their heads in nods, and the visitors clap, pleased to be noted- neither separate group seem to realize what a surprise everyone was going to be shot into.

"My first trick will be making a bird appear from this hat!" The newbies clap, but everyone else has seen this trick millions of times- it is only Allen who watches with rapt eyes. Michelle flips the hat over, her typical technique to prove just how magical her magic is. "See, nothing the…" She trails off.

There, fluttering down onto the stage, landing in a precise fashion, was Allen's blue feather.

The room is quiet, shock shifting through it- either in the surprise that Michelle failed a trick, or knowing exactly what the feather was. Michelle doesn't pick it up, and that makes Allen falter in confidence until Tina yells; "Pick it up, genius!"

Michelle, startled, leans over and picks it up, twirling the soft silk in between her fingers. "Allen?" She whispers his name, quiet wonder the only tone that could be heard in her voice.

He stand up, proud to be able to say the next words with the utmost confidence. "Yes, Michelle?"

"I love you." Michelle whispers- the crowd whistles and claps, because her whisper is more of a normal-person voice.

The words haven't been to his ears before, though he had hoped they were true. Allen smiles, stepping up onto her stage, the one that they would have to learn to share. He leans down, taking her hand- the one that didn't hold his rather pricey feather, thank you- and looks up. "I love you too. Does this mean…?"

"More than anything in the world."

Allen swings himself up, and gathers her in his arms. She laughs, and the crowd applauds- not knowing what was going on, but finding it romantic anyway. Felicity is telling Rod that she "knew it all along" and Yuri is in the corner, smiling because her friend found her fairytale after all. In Allen's world, however, it is just the two of them, in each other's arms like he'd never known he'd always wanted- a home, and it is the most beautiful thing he could have hoped for.


	3. Beautiful Children

**IT HAS BEEN SO LONG! Sorry!**

**These two are so cute. **** Thanks for the all the views- but reviews are even better. Also; CAPJHMP and Chuchu- thank you guys so much. You encourage me to keep posting these!**

**RodXTina**

_**[Somebody had to put the two kids together eventually]**_

She fancied herself in love with him.

Felicity- the waitress she deemed her friend- thought it was ridiculous, always did and always would. Tina argues that she liked a challenge, but Felicity refused to believe that _this _kind of challenge was the right kind.

Okay, so _maybe _she was right.

"_Please?_ C'mon, Neil! I need to interview somebody about this."

The handsome animal dealer grunts, refusing to look at his only customer; which was a shame, because he had really cool eyes. "Go hit up Allen, then. He likes to talk. Or that farmer girl. She has animals too." There was an unspoken word floating there, beneath the meanness; _Please?_

Tina paid it no mind. "I already interviewed Allen- " and that was hard enough, she thinks to herself, thank you- "and Rio is always super-busy."

"…And I'm not?"

Tina is biting frustration. _How thick is his skull? Dude, I like you and I'm using my newest project as an excuse to try and go out with you!_ "A bit less than her, sorry. I really want an animal dealer's opinion on this, so if you would please-"

"…Hit up him, then." The man's eyes drift to a spot behind Tina.

_Who? _Tina turns around to see a boy she's never seen before carting up shop- and with him, horses and cats and dogs. Turning back around, Tina sees that Neil is victoriously catering to Rio- who was really the only person who bought from him, and- of course- she had to come around at this particular moment. Tina gives the farmer a little wave, but the older woman just nods, not even realizing she had just snapped Tina's chances in two. _I guess he successfully weaseled his way out of that one._ Tina looks to the new guy- she really did need an interview for that article…

Tina straightens up her stockings and walks over to the barely set-up stand.

The guy- also a blond- looks up at her. "Sorry, we're not open yet." He grins, and it's a nice smile. "If you'll come back later, I can set you up with a nice pet. A cat, maybe? You look like the cat type."

At the mention of her fluffy favorites, Tina loses her direction. The formal 'Hi, I'm Tina, and I'd like to interview you' was lost to the wind. "Really? I love cats! I've always wanted my own!"

"That's awesome! I didn't think I'd get a costumer this early!" He gets off his knees. "Do you prefer long hair or short hair?"

At this point, Tina's notepad has settled deep into her back pocket- why she keeps it in such a forgetful place, she doesn't know. She didn't bother to say she wasn't really planning on buying a cat. "Long hair. At least that was what my childhood kitty was. When she died, my parents wouldn't let us get another one."

"A house without pets?" He seems truly startled by the idea. "Okay, we can set you up with a pretty long-hair."

Tina brushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear. _Thank you, new guy, for being much nicer!_ He's good-looking too, but in a much different way than Neil; his eyes lit up with kindness and green sparks instead of red flowers and social awkwardness. The brunette shifts to the other leg, practically bouncing with anticipation; _she will be Fleur Jr.! _She'd have to buy a dish, maybe get Rebecca to install a cat door… "When can I expect her? Please say soon!"

He laughs, and it's a light, happy laugh; the kind that Felicity has when she's relaxed and Tina just said something really weird. "Soon enough, depending on the color you want. Hey, you know, it's nice talking to you, but you still should leave… I have work to do, you know!"

"No!" Tina finds herself yelling, much to the guy's surprise. She covers her mouth with her sleeve. "I mean, I don't even know your name!"

"I'm Rod."

"Tina." She blushes, rather embarrassed. " I'll be going now." She turns to leave, not noticing when something falls out of her back pocket.

"Tina?" She whips around at the sound, hoping that he'll have something more to say. About _anything._ She likes the sound of his voice; it is a male voice that isn't constantly traced with annoyance. "I think this is yours."

His hands hold her notepad. Tina pulls a chameleon, turning bright red, and takes the notepad. _Oops. Totally forgot about that. _"Thanks… and er… do you mind if I interview you about something?"

In typical Tina fashion, she learns everything about him she possibly can. This time, Felicity laughs and asks him questions and serves him Lasagna. Felicity likes him- he is bright, colorful, and would play with her friend if she asked him to- and he does. Tina is merely curious, for a long time- she bugs Neil every Wednesday at precisely two thirty-three- she prefers odd numbers to perfectly even ones, if you must know- but finds herself at Rod's stall by two thirty-five.

She never did get the cat, though.

He doesn't have any siblings, he adores Lasagna, his middle name is Gene- after his Grandpa-, his favorite color is orange; Tina could list off things about him like she could list off stuff about herself. Rod likes to brag that he can do the same, and they challenge each other who can say more- and Tina always wins, but he doesn't tell her he lets it happen. Tina jots down things she learns about him, and places him right next to Felicity's stack- by Winter, he nearly topples hers.

On a day in the late Winter, the trees outside sparkling with frost, Felicity paces back and forth in Tina's house, a piece of paper in her pale hands. "He's never been in a relationship, huh? Was he blushing when he said it?"

Tina crosses her legs, dangling her head off the side of her bed- a pose suggesting she was unconcerned, but designed to hide her own red face. "Yeah, a little. Why?"

Felicity squeals- having a new crush on the exotic Butler made her squeal about everything- and places the paper back on Rod's stack, knocking the whole thing over- but the older woman pays no mind. "He likes you! Oh, you have to like him, you have to!"

Tina flips over onto her back. "I like Neil, remember?" She says it, but she doesn't really believe it, not anymore.

Felicity frowns. "_Really? _You're still on that?"

"No." The words are tangy, like blood in her mouth- she doesn't like giving up, but Rio told her that Neil had his eye on his own special someone, and it wasn't bright-and-colorful Tina. Tina had thought about it, and proclaimed it to either be Yuri or Iroha- he would be cute with Felicity, but that thought was painful to bare. The two quiet girls would be good for him, either one of them. "I guess not."

Felicity turns to face her friend, violet eyes shining- _she must really like this Sanjay guy to look like that! _Tina wonders, absent mindedly, if she ever looks like that talking about Rod. "Yes! You are just too cute with Rod to give it up. Thank goodness! I never saw why you liked that Neil anyway."

There are the common excuses for liking the anti-social boy that emerge themselves on the tip of her tongue; _He's cute, I want him to open up, I'm curious_- but suddenly, none of them make sense. Tina knows that she would prefer to spend the day happy- and happy meant Rod.

"I don't know either."

"Tag, you're it!"

It smells like Summer and love; Rio was with child, Felicity had moved into the Exotic Mansion- keeping her day job, of course-, Michelle and Allen had just gotten married, and Niko proposed to Hina again- Toni kept saying that she'd eventually accept, and Niko doesn't mind trying. Tina loves the smell of Summer, the tang of fresh leaves and grass whipping across your nose, but the smell of love was new to her- but she liked it all the same.

"Uh-uh. No tag backs!" Hina was adamant, stopping her running to pout, and bringing Tina's mind back to center stage.

"Is that a rule?" Tina is just as adamant; she doesn't like to lose to a six year-old, especially with Rod around.

"Have you never played tag before? _Of course,_ it's a rule." Toni- high and mighty at nearly nine- shouts. "Now tag somebody else!"

Rod laughs at the display, and she catches him in the corner of her eye- she needed an excuse to go after him, and this was a perfect one. "I'll show you what you get for laughing at me!"

Niko sighs loudly. "Are they really going to do this again? I'm starting to get hungry."

Toni laughs. "Niko, you're always hungry."

Hina sits down. "Shh! It's romantic! Even if they do it a lot…"

Tina doesn't understand how chasing around her almost-boyfriend could be anywhere close to the romance Amir and Rio shared, or even the one Felicity and Sanjay had- but she didn't care. Rod's eyes sparkled as he whipped around, dropping his puffy vest to the ground.

"Oh yeah? Come and get me!"

The kids were right; whenever invited to play tag, an episode like this would come along soon enough. The only reason Hina, Toni, and Niko stood for it was because Hina thought it was cute and 'you can't play a good round of tag with three people'.

Tina was more fit than Rod, but Rod was not a force to reckon with- he was barely faster than her, leaving her sitting on the edge of anticipation, the edge of catching him. They weave along the Festival clearing as the kids watch, running in and out of ear. Tina's breath catches up with her, and her legs hit the ground with increasingly loud thumps- _I'm getting tired! _ The panic lasts only a moment before common sense kicks in; _So he must be too! _Tina pushes one last surge forward, her feet hitting the ground in awkward angles that couldn't possibly be good for her knees- and pushes Rod to the ground.

"Told ya' so," Tina says proudly, bouncing up off his back at the moment he hit the ground. "You think you would learn not to mess with me."

Rod turns himself around, and Tina offers him a hand- he pulls himself up, dusting the dirt off his shirt. Toni brings him his puffy jacket, looking slightly annoyed. "You think I would learn," Rod grins, "but I like having you chase me around."

Tina laughs, pushing his shoulder. Hina, who followed the silent Niko and the indignant Toni to the two spot Tina and Rod had ended up in, sighs dreamily. "I don't understand why you two don't just get married… Mama and Daddy are so happy, and Miss Felicity is so cute with … it seems like everybody's doing it."

Tina leaned down to speak to the girl. "Hina, it doesn't work like that…"

"Why not?" Rod asks, curiosity tracing his voice.

Tina stands up, looking him straight in the face- though he was taller; she could be much more intimidating. "Because… Well, it's a tradition around here, to propose with a blue feather at the perfect time, I guess." She doesn't like her lack of an answer, but that's all she has.

Rod gets closer, and they're standing nose-to-nose. "A tradition for a new town born out of the old one?"

"Well… yes, that's exactly what it is."

Tina can hear Toni asking what they are doing, and Hina shushing him again, but her focus is mostly on Rod. "It was remade to be broken, don't you think?" Tina can feel her own breath getting shallow; realizing the words that were about to come out of Rod's mouth. "I think getting married is a great idea."

She blinks, trying to recognize the look in his eyes- and she sees that it is genuine love. "Are you seriously…?"

It is a rhetorical question- Tina knows Rod, and she knows when he is joking. His eyes hold the sparkle- the light in the depths that never turns off- but also a tone of seriousness. Hina squeals. "Say, yes, say, yes, say, yes!"

Tina has never liked commitment- she doesn't mind settling down, but she needs to be moving in place. There has only been one thing she has been able to commit to in her life, truly and completely- her newspaper. In a way, Rod is like her newspaper- he is there when she falls, laughs at her bad jokes. He is the one other thing she could see herself committing to.

They were lonely now; their best friends had upped and found happiness where the two of them didn't know they could.

Besides, their babies would have blue eyes.

As soon as the "yes" falls out of her mouth, Rod is kissing it. They've never kissed before, for real, but it feels like they have.

After a moment, Rod pulls back, smiling. "I love you."

"I love you too, Rod."

"Okay," Toni grunts, "we all love each other. Can we go back to tag now?"

And they do.


End file.
